The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Geranium plant, botanically known as Pelargonium.times.hortorum, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Balsholila.
The new Geranium is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Arroyo Grande, Calif. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new cultivars with freely-branching growth habit, dark green-colored foliage, uniform flowering, and interesting flower and foliage colors.
The new Geranium originated from a cross made by the Inventor of the proprietary Pelargonium.times.hortorum selection BFP-1006 as the male, or pollen parent, with the proprietary Pelargonium.times.hortorum selection BFP-760 as the female, or seed parent. The cultivar Balsholila was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Arroyo Grande, Calif., in January, 1996.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken at Arroyo Grande, Calif., has shown that the unique features of this new Geranium are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.